Batmobile worthy of copyright protection, court rules
The Batmobile has joined literary characters including James Bond and Godzilla in being deemed “especially distinctive” by a US appeals court and therefore deserving of copyright protection.
Yesterday, September 23, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that DC Comics, the creator of Batman, owned a “copyright interest” in the Batmobile vehicle, which it said has “character traits and attributes”.
The Batmobile is the vehicle belonging to superhero Batman and is displayed in both the 1966 television series and the 1989 film “Batman”.
The dispute concerned replica Batmobile cars that had been produced by car designer Mark Towle.
Towle said that the replicas were designed for “avid car collectors” who “know the entire history of the Batmobile”.
He sold them for $90,000 each under the company name Gotham Garage and advertised them online at batmobilereplicas.com.
DC Comics sued Towle in 2011 at the US District Court for the Central District of California alleging both copyright and trademark infringement.
The district court granted DC Comics’ motion for summary judgment in 2013 stating that Towle’s cars were infringing.
Towle appealed against the decisions but the ninth circuit’s three-judge panel was not convinced by Towle’s claim.
Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta, writing in the 3-0 opinion, said that the Batmobile was “especially distinctive” and that there are “consistent character traits and attributes” to it.
“The Batmobile also has its unique and highly recognisable name. It is not merely a stock character,” she added.
Under the US Copyright Act, there is no specific provision on the protection for literary characters, but the ninth circuit held in the 1978 case Halicki Films v Sanderson Sales and Marketing that characters can qualify for protection if they are “ especially distinctive”.
Ikuta concluded: “DC Comics owns a copyright interest in the Batmobile character, as it is depicted in the 1966 and 1989 productions”.
On the question of trademark infringement, Ikuta dismissed Towle’s laches defence on the basis that his infringement was “wilful”.
In previous decisions James Bond, Batman and Godzilla have all been deemed distinctive enough to warrant protection.
Larry Zerner, head of the Law Office of Larry Zerner and representing Towle, said the decision was "baffling". He said that, under the US Copyright Act, an automobile design is not protected. "My client only sold cars, not characters," Zerner said.
He added that his client was currently considering his options.
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